In the Acts of the Apostles, we read about the stoning of St. Stephen after defending his faith before the Sanhedrin. Notice the similarity between Jesus and him at the peak of their suffering. Despite the tremendous pain, both of them continued to pray fervently and even prayed that the sins not be held against the people that caused the ordeal. It is without doubt that we all pray when faced with adversities, either for ourselves or for the people/things we truly care about. However, the example here is that the people who causing the hurt are being prayed for? It seems like a prayer that they do not deserve. However, prayer is what they really need.
Why were you baptised? Interestingly everyone has their own reasons, yet it comes down to God offering us new life and promising us an everlasting life with Him. Remember the time when we firmly said “Yes, I believe!” during the baptism rite and subsequently the renewal of the baptismal vows? The Lord called and we responded. It was then that we were given the living water because we were thirsty and were seeking it. We are reminded that God will always be with us.
In today’s gospel, we see Jesus praying to God our Father. He prayed for both his followers and non-believers, that one day, they would see and believe in Him.
We are blessed to have many people of the same faith that we can seek advice from, share ideas and celebrate joys together. We should then, spread the joy to others who do not know Jesus as the disciples did.
Let us continue to give praise to God and place our trust in Him.
Written by: Edith Tan